S.L. 545.45 Art. 3Sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria for biofuels,bioliquids and biomass fuels.           S.L. 545.33.  S.L. 545.43.    S.L. 545.43.

(1) Energy from biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels shall be taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) only if they fulfil the sustainability and the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria stipulated in sub-regulations

(6) to (13):

(a) counting towards Malta’s contribution to the Union’s renewable energy share target and towards Malta meeting the targets established for the shares of renewable energy in:

(i) the gross final energy consumption;

(ii) the building sector;

(iii) the industry;

(iv) heating and cooling;

(v) district heating and cooling; and (SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA)

(vi) the transport sector;

(b) measuring compliance with renewable energy obligations;

(c) eligibility for financial support for the consumption of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels.

(2) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from waste and residues, other than agricultural, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry residues, are required to fulfil only the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria stipulated in sub-regulations (12) and (13) in order to be taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1):

Provided that operators may be required to apply mixed waste sorting systems that aim to remove fossil materials:

Provided further that this sub-regulation shall also apply to waste and residues that are first processed into a product before being further processed into biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels.

(3) Electricity, heating and cooling produced from municipal solid waste shall not be subject to the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria stipulated in sub-regulations (12) and (13).

(4) Biomass fuels shall fulfil the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria stipulated in sub-regulations

(6) to (11), and (12) and (13) if used:

(a) in the case of solid biomass fuels, in installations producing electricity, heating and cooling with a total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding seven point five megawatts (7.5 MW);

(b) in the case of gaseous biomass fuels, in installations producing electricity, heating and cooling with a total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding two megawatts (2 MW);

(c) in the case of installations producing gaseous biomass fuels with the following average biomethane flow rate:

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(i) above two hundred metres cubed (200m ) methane equivalent per hour measured at standard conditions of temperature and pressure, namely zero degrees Celsius (0°C) and one (1) bar atmospheric pressure;

(ii) if biogas is composed of a mixture of methane and non-combustible other gas, for the methane flow rate, the threshold established in sub-paragraph (i), recalculated proportionally to the volumetric share of methane in the mixture:

Provided that the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria may be applied to installations with a lower total rated thermal input or biomethane flow rate.

(5) The sustainability and the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria stipulated in sub-regulations (6) to (13) shall apply irrespective of the geographical origin of the biomass.

(6) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from waste and residues derived not from forestry but from agricultural land shall not be taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) unless either the operators or the national authorities of the country in which they are produced have monitoring or management plans in place in order to address the impacts on soil quality and soil carbon, and the information about how those impacts are monitored and managed is being reported pursuant to sub-regulations (4) to (6) of regulation 5.

(7) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from agricultural biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) shall not be made from raw material obtained from land with a high biodiversity value, namely land that had one of the following statuses in or after January 2008, irrespective of whether the land continues to have such status:

(a) primary forest and other wooded land, namely forest and other wooded land of native species, where there is no clearly visible indication of human activity and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed; and old growth forests as defined in the country where the forest is located;

(b) highly biodiverse forest and other wooded land which is species-rich and not degraded, and has been identified as being highly biodiverse by the relevant competent authority, unless evidence is provided that the production of that raw material did not interfere with those nature protection purposes;

(c) areas designated:

(i) by law or by the relevant competent authority for nature protection purposes, unless evidence is provided that the production of such raw material did not interfere with those nature protection purposes; or

(ii) for the protection of rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems or species recognised by (SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA)

international agreements or included in lists drawn up by intergovernmental organisations or the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, subject to their recognition in accordance with the first sub-paragraph of Article 30(4) of the Directive, unless evidence is provided that the production of that raw material did not interfere with those nature protection purposes;

(d) highly biodiverse grassland spanning more than one (1) hectare that is:

(i) natural, namely grassland that would remain grassland in the absence of human intervention and that maintains the natural species composition and ecological characteristics and processes;

(ii) non-natural, namely grassland that would cease to be grassland in the absence of human intervention and that is species-rich and not degraded and has been identified as being highly biodiverse by the relevant competent authority, unless evidence is provided that the harvesting of the raw material is necessary to preserve its status as highly biodiverse grassland; or

(e) heathland.

(8) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from agricultural biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) shall not be made from raw material obtained from land with high-carbon stock, namely land that had one of the following statuses in January 2008 and no longer has such status:

(a) wetlands, namely land that is covered with or saturated by water permanently or for a significant part of the year;

(b) continuously forested areas, namely land spanning more than one (1) hectare with trees higher than five (5) metres and a canopy cover of more than thirty percent (30%), or trees able to reach those thresholds in situ; or

(c) land spanning more than one (1) hectare with trees higher than five (5) metres and a canopy cover of between ten and thirty percent (10% - 30%), or trees able to reach those thresholds unless evidence is provided that the carbon in situ, stock of the area before and after conversion is such that, when the methodology stipulated in Part C of the First Schedule is applied, the conditions stipulated in sub-regulations (12) and

(13) would be fulfilled: Provided that this sub-regulation shall not apply if, at the time the raw material was obtained, the land had the same status as it had in January 2008.

(9) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from agricultural biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1), shall not be made from raw material obtained from land that was peatland in January 2008, unless evidence is provided that the cultivation and harvesting of such raw material does not involve drainage of previously undrained soil.

(10) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) shall satisfy the following criteria to minimise the risk of using forest biomass derived from unsustainable production:

(a) the country in which forest biomass was harvested has national or sub-national laws applicable in the area of harvest as well as monitoring and enforcement systems in place ensuring:

(i) the legality of harvesting operations;

(ii) forest regeneration of harvested areas;

(iii) that areas designated by international or national law or by the relevant competent authority for nature protection purposes, including in wetlands, in grassland, in heathland and peatlands, are protected with the aim of preserving biodiversity and preventing habitat destruction;

(iv) that harvesting is carried out considering maintenance of soil quality and biodiversity in accordance with sustainable forest management principles, with the aim of preventing any adverse impact, in a way that avoids harvesting of stumps and roots, degradation of primary forests, and of old growth forests as defined in the country where the forest is located, or their conversion into plantation forests, and harvesting on vulnerable soils; that harvesting is carried out in compliance with maximum thresholds for large clear-cuts as defined in the country where the forest is located and with locally and ecologically appropriate retention thresholds for deadwood extraction; and that harvesting is carried out in compliance with requirements to use logging systems that minimise any adverse impact on soil quality, including soil compaction, and on (SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA)

biodiversity features and habitats;

(v) that harvesting maintains or improves the long-term production capacity of the forest;

(vi) that forests in which the forest biomass is harvested do not stem from the lands that have the statuses referred to in paragraphs (a), (b), (d) and (e) of sub-regulation (7), paragraph (a) of sub-regulation (8), and sub-regulation (9) respectively, under the same conditions of determination of the status of land specified in those paragraphs; and

(vii) that installations producing biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels from forest biomass, issue a statement of assurance, underpinned by company-level internal processes, for the purpose of the audits conducted pursuant to sub-regulations (4) to (6) of regulation 5, that the forest biomass is not sourced from the lands referred to in sub-paragraph (vi):

Provided that where the conditions established in sub-paragraphs (vi) and (vii) are not satisfied, sub-regulation (7) with the exception of paragraph (c), sub-regulation (8) with the exception of paragraphs (b) and (c) and sub-regulation (9) shall also apply to biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass.

(b) when the evidence referred to in paragraph (a) is not available, the biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass shall be taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) if management systems are in place at forest sourcing area level ensuring:

(i) the legality of harvesting operations;

(ii) forest regeneration of harvested areas;

(iii) that areas designated by international or national law or by the relevant competent authority for nature protection purposes, including in wetlands, in grassland, in heathland and peatlands, are protected with the aim of preserving biodiversity and preventing habitat destruction, unless evidence is provided that the harvesting of such raw material does not interfere with those nature protection purposes;

(iv) that harvesting is carried out considering maintenance of soil quality and biodiversity, in accordance with sustainable forest management principles, with the aim of preventing any adverse impact, in a way that avoids harvesting of stumps and roots, degradation of primary forests, and of old growth forests as defined in the country where the forest is located, or their conversion into plantation forests, and harvesting on vulnerable soils; that harvesting is carried out in compliance with maximum thresholds for large clear-cuts as defined in the country where the forest is located, and with locally and ecologically appropriate retention thresholds for deadwood extraction; and that harvesting is carried out in compliance with requirements to use logging systems that minimise any adverse impact on soil quality, including soil compaction, and on biodiversity features and habitats; and

(v) that harvesting maintains or improves the long-term production capacity of the forest.

(11) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) shall satisfy the following land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) criteria:

(a) the country or regional economic integration organisation of origin of the forest biomass is a Party to the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; and

(i) it has submitted a nationally determined contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), covering emissions and removals from agriculture, forestry and land use sectors which ensures that changes in carbon stock associated with biomass harvest are accounted towards the country’s commitment to reduce or limit greenhouse gas emissions as specified in the nationally determined contribution; or

(ii) it has national or sub-national laws in place, in accordance with Article 5 of the Paris Agreement, applicable in the area of harvest, to conserve and enhance carbon stocks and sinks, and providing evidence that reported LULUCF-sector emissions do not exceed removals;

(b) where the evidence referred to in paragraph (a) is not available, the biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass shall be taken into account for (SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA)

the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) if management systems are in place at forest sourcing area level to ensure that carbon stocks and sinks levels in the forest are maintained, or strengthened over the long term.

(12) The greenhouse gas emission savings from the use of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels taken into account for the purposes referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall be:

(a) at least fifty percent (50%) for biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector, and bioliquids produced in installations in operation on or before 5th October 2015;

(b) at least sixty percent (60%) for biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector, and bioliquids produced in installations which started operating from 6th October 2015 until 31st December 2020;

(c) at least sixty-five percent (65%) for biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector, and bioliquids produced in installations which started operating from 1st January 2021;

(d) for electricity, heating and cooling production from biomass fuels used in installations that started operating after 20th November 2023, at least eighty percent (80%);

(e) for electricity, heating and cooling production from biomass fuels used in installations with a total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding ten megawatts (10 MW) that started operating between 1st January 2021 and 20th November st 2023, at least seventy percent (70%) until 31 December 2029, st and at least eighty percent (80%) from 1 January 2030;

(f) for electricity, heating and cooling production from gaseous biomass fuels used in installations with a total rated thermal input equal to or lower than ten megawatts (10 MW) that started operating between 1st January 2021 and 20th November 2023, at least seventy percent (70%) before they have been operating for fifteen (15) years, and at least eighty percent (80%) after they have been in operation for fifteen (15) years;

(g) for electricity, heating and cooling production from biomass fuels used in installations with a total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding ten megawatts (10 MW) that started operating before 1st January 2021, at least eighty percent (80%) after they have been operating for fifteen (15) years, at the earliest from 1st January 2026 and at the latest from 31st December 2029;

(h) for electricity, heating and cooling production from gaseous biomass fuels used in installations with a total rated thermal input equal to or lower than ten megawatts (10 MW) that started operating before 1st January 2021, at least eighty percent (80%) after they have been operating for fifteen

(15) years and at the earliest from 1st January 2026:

Provided that an installation shall be considered to be in operation once the physical production of biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector and bioliquids, and the physical production of heating and cooling and electricity from biomass fuels has started.

(13) The greenhouse gas emission savings from the use of biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector, bioliquids and biomass fuels used in installations producing heating, cooling and electricity shall be calculated in accordance with regulation 6(1).

(14) The production of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels from domestic forest biomass shall be consistent with Malta’s commitments and targets stipulated in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2018/841 and with the relative policies and measures described in Malta’s integrated national energy and climate plans submitted pursuant to Articles 3 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.

(15) Following the inclusion within Malta’s national energy and climate plan of:

(a) an assessment of the domestic supply of forest biomass available for energy purposes in 2021-2030;

(b) an assessment of the compatibility of the projected use of forest biomass for the production of energy with Malta’s targets and budgets for 2026 to 2030 stipulated in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2018/841; and

(c) a description of the national measures and policies ensuring compatibility with those targets and budgets, a report on the measures and policies referred to in paragraph

(c) shall be included in Malta’s integrated national energy and climate progress reports submitted pursuant to Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.

(16) Electricity from biomass fuels shall be taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) only if it satisfies one (1) or more of the following requirements:

(a) it is produced in installations with a total rated thermal input below fifty megawatts (50 MW); (SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA)

(b) for installations with a total rated thermal input from fifty to one hundred megawatts (50 - 100 MW), it is produced applying high-efficiency cogeneration technology or, for electricity-only installations, meeting an energy efficiency level associated with the best available techniques (BAT-AEELs) as defined in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/1442 of 31 July 2017 establishing best available techniques (BAT) conclusions, under Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, for large combustion plants (notified under document C(2017) 5225);

(c) for installations with a total rated thermal input above one hundred megawatts (100 MW), it is produced applying high-efficiency cogeneration technology or, for electricity-only installations, achieving a net-electrical efficiency of at least thirty-six percent (36%);

(d) it is produced applying biomass CO capture and 2 storage:

Provided that for the purposes of paragraphs (a),

(b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1), electricity-only-installations shall be taken into account only if they do not use fossil fuels as a main fuel and only if there is no cost-effective potential for the application of high-efficiency cogeneration technology according to the assessment carried out in accordance with the

Energy Efficiency Regulations.

(17) Sub-regulation (16) shall:

(a) apply only to installations starting operation or converted to the use of biomass fuels after 25 December 2021 for the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b) of sub-regulation (1);

(b) be without prejudice to support granted under support schemes in accordance with regulation 22 of the Promotion of Energy from Renewable Sources Regulations approved by 25 December 2021 for the purposes of paragraph

(c) of sub-regulation (1);

(c) not apply to electricity from installations which are the object of a specific notification to the European Commission based on the duly substantiated existence of risks for the security of supply of electricity:

Provided that higher energy efficiency requirements may be applied to installations with lower rated thermal input.

(18) For the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c)

of sub-regulation (1), and without prejudice to regulations 14 and 15

of the Promotion of Energy from Renewable Sources Regulations, the Regulator shall not refuse to take into account, on other sustainability grounds, biofuels and bioliquids obtained in compliance with this regulation, provided that this sub-regulation shall be without prejudice to public support granted under support schemes approved before 24th December 2018.

(19) For the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1), additional sustainability criteria for biomass fuels may be established.

(20) Until 31st December 2030, energy from biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels may also be taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1), where:

(a) support was granted before 20th November 2023, in accordance with the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria established in Article 29 of the Directive in its version in force on 29th September 2020; and

(b) support was granted in the form of a long-term support for which a fixed amount had been determined at the start of the support period and a correction mechanism is established to ensure the absence of overcompensation.